Jelle Geens prioritizes Kona in 2026: “I would prefer to win the IRONMAN World Championship”
Jelle Geens will open their 2026 season this weekend at the HOMBRE DE HIERRO 70.3 Geelong, but his main goal for the year isn't just to continue dominating the middle distance. The Belgian has made it clear that his primary ambition is to make the leap to IRONMAN and fight for the World Championship in Kona.
The reflection comes at a particularly striking moment in his career. Geens lands in Geelong as current IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship champion and with the possibility of continuing to make history at that distance, but his motivation seems to be elsewhere now.
According to one interview published by Triathlete.comThe Belgian admits that, if he had to choose, he would prefer to conquer the IRONMAN world title before adding a new crown 70.3.
From Geelong to Texas with Kona on the horizon
Geens will premiere in 2026 this March 22. in Geelong, a race that will also bring together names like Kristian Blummenfelt y Hayden Wilde, in one of the most powerful lineups of the season's start.
The Australian event will serve as the first test before a much bigger move in their schedule: their planned debut in a IRONMAN complete a few weeks later in IRONMAN Texas.
The idea, as has been published in recent weeks, is to use Texas as a gateway to Kona 2026The overarching goal that is shaping all their planning. It's not just about competing further, but about reorganize the season to arrive at the best possible time for the key tests of the year.
A change of priority for the two-time world champion 70.3
Geens' case is interesting because it comes just when he seemed to have established himself as one of the top middle-distance runners. The Belgian has strung together two IRONMAN 70.3 world titles And he remains one of the most dangerous men on the circuit, but now he wants to see how far he can go in the queen distance.
In that conversation with Triathlete.comGeens admits that the possibility of becoming the first man to win three IRONMAN 70.3 World Championships It would be important, but it suggests that this achievement no longer motivates him as much as before.
His true motivation is to fight for a victory in Kona, a scenario he has not yet explored and which he considers the great challenge yet to come in his career.
Geelong, first test of a different season
That's why Geelong will have a special significance. Beyond the outcome, it will be the first visible step in a campaign built with a different approach.
IRONMAN already presents the Belgian as one of the great figures of the Australian race and as defending championBut the real interest will also lie in seeing how he responds in this initial phase before facing the leap to IRONMAN complete.
If everything fits together, 2026 could become the year that Jelle Geens stops being just a 70.3 champion and truly takes on the dream that now dominates his calendar: winning the IRONMAN World Championship in Kona.
